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Where Israel is involved expect trouble
UN
peacekeeper, 2 IDF soldiers killed: Israel, Hezbollah exchange fire
An
anti-tank missile hit an IDF vehicle in the Golan Heights, prompting
an exchange of fire between the Israeli army and Hezbollah, which
claimed responsibility for the attack. A UN peacekeeper and two IDF
soldiers have been killed.
The
Israeli Defense Forces vehicle was struck by an anti-tank missile in
Har Dov (also known as Shebaa Farms), an area under Israeli control
that borders on Lebanon and Syria, the IDF said.
In
a statement claiming responsibility for the attack, Hezbollah said it
resulted in casualties among “enemy ranks.”
Two
Israeli soldiers were killed as a result of the attack by the
militant group, according to a statement released by the Israeli
military. The statement also said that seven soldiers were wounded.
The
official announcement of the casualties was delayed for several hours
so that the families of the victims could be notified.
The
Hezbollah statement says the attack was carried out by a group
calling itself the “heroic martyrs of Quneitra.” Quneitra is a
district in the Golan Heights. The name of the group suggests the
attack was in retaliation for the January 18 airstrike by Israel on
the Golan Heights, which killed six Lebanese Hezbollah fighters along
with a senior Iranian general.
No
soldiers were kidnapped in the Lebanon incident, the IDF said.
"The
rumor of abduction has been ruled out," Reuters cited
Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Lerner, an Israeli military spokesman, who
was commenting on Lebanese media reports of a soldier having been
kidnapped.
Israel
responded to the attack on the IDF vehicle by firing 25 artillery
shells into Lebanon, according to Lebanese security officials cited
by Naharnet.
Mortar
bombs launched from Lebanon then hit an Israeli military position in
the Golan Heights, Reuters reported citing the IDF
"One
peacekeeper was killed,” Reuters cited Andrea Tenenti, spokesman
for UNIFIL, as saying. “We are looking into the circumstances of
this tragic incident."
The
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia Margallo received a call
from Israel’s ambassador expressing his condolences and apologies
for the death of the solider, Sputnik reports. 36-year-old Corporal
Francisco Javier Soria Toledo was killed this morning during the
clashes, according Spain’s Defense Department.
El
Pais, however, cites military sources saying that Soria was killed by
Israeli mortar fired in retaliation for a prior attack by Hezbollah.
Residents
in the Israel-controlled area have been instructed to stay indoors.
“All
residents are asked to return to their homes and to close all doors
and windows until further notice,” the IDF’s Home Front Command
said in a text message, cited by the Times of Israel.
Airports
in Chaifa and Rosh Pina have been closed, as well as roads along the
borders with Lebanon and Syria. The IDF is holding an emergency
meeting on the incident, Israeli media report.
Lebanese
schools in the villages near the border with Israel are being
evacuated, according to Al-Arabiya.
Meanwhile,
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Tammam Salam has reiterated his commitment
to the UN Security Council resolution that ended the 2006
Israel-Hezbollah War.
Several
hours earlier, Israeli jets struck several targets in Syria in
response to Hezbollah rocket fire into the Israeli-occupied Golan
Heights.
READ
MORE: Israel
launches airstrikes on Syria following rocket attack, ‘red line’
warning from Iran
Israeli
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has blamed Hezbollah for the death
of a Spanish UN peacekeeper killed in retaliatory Israeli mortar fire
in southern Lebanon on Wednesday.
After
a series of cross-border strikes that left two IDF soldiers and a
Spanish peacekeeper from the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)
dead on Wednesday, Lieberman called Spanish Foreign Minister Jose
Manuel Garcia Margallo to express his condolences.
He
also claimed that the Lebanese government was responsible for any
attacks that come from its territory.
Lieberman
called on Israel to respond to the attack in a “forceful and
disproportionate manner.”
Earlier
in the day, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also warned that Israel
could retaliate harshly.
“To
those who are challenging us in the north, I suggest you look at what
happened in the Gaza Strip,” he said.
Netanyahu
said that those “behind the attack today will pay the full price,”
as he began talks with security chiefs about a possible response to
the assault.
According
to a UN spokesperson, the UNIFIL solider, Corporal Francisco Javier
Soria Toledo, one of more than 10,000 UN soldiers stationed in
Lebanon, was killed during an Israeli counterattack on Hezbollah. His
death is currently under investigation.
The
36-year-old soldier from Malaga was near the village of Ghayar along
the UN Blue Line border area between Israel and Lebanon when he was
hit by Israeli mortar responding to prior attacks by Hezbollah,
reports El Pais.
On
Wednesday morning IDF troops were struck by an anti-tank missile in
Shebaa Farms, an area in southern Lebanon under Israeli control.
Hezbollah released a statement taking responsibility for the attacks.
The
Israeli ambassador to Spain, Alon Bar, also called Garcia to express
his condolences and apologies for the death of Soria, Sputnik news
agency reported.
Israel
told the UN that it was prepared to take all necessary measures to
defend itself.
"Israel
will not stand by as Hezbollah targets Israelis," Israeli UN
Ambassador Ron Prosor said in a letter to the Security Council and
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. "Israel will not accept any
attacks on its territory and it will exercise its right to
self-defense and take all necessary measures to protect its
population.”
"I
urge the Security Council to unequivocally and publicly condemn
Hezbollah," Prosor said. "The terrorist organization must
be disarmed and the government of Lebanon must abide by its
international commitments and fully implement Security Council
resolution 1701."
Meanwhile,
Lebanese Foreign Minister Tammam Salam tried to distance the Lebanese
government from the attack, reiterating Lebanon’s commitment to the
UN resolution, which put an end to the 2006 Israel-Lebanon War.
Jordan
Denies Reports on Release of Iraqi Suicide Bomber Requested by IS
BEIRUT,
January 28 (Sputnik) – Jordan's foreign minister dismissed
Wednesday's reports that a failed Iraqi suicide bomber, Sajida
Rishawi, whose release was demanded by the Islamic State (IS)
jihadist group, had been already discharged from custody.
"Who
said that Sajida has been released and left Jordan? These claims are
not true… As we said earlier, she will be released only following
the release of our son Muath," Nasser Judeh tweeted, denying
media reports that Rishawi had already arrived in Iraq.
On
Tuesday, IS published a video where a man, claiming to be Japanese
captive Kenji Goto, said Jordan had 24 hours to free the Iraqi
prisoner, otherwise both he and the Jordanian pilot would die.
Rishawi
is believed to have been involved in the November 2005 terrorist
attack in Amman, Jordan, in which at least 60 people were killed.
Islamic
State operative confesses to receiving funding through US - report
:
A
man believed to be a Pakistani commander of Islamic State or Daish,
Yousaf al Salafi, has confessed to law enforcement agencies in
Pakistan to getting funds via the United States, according to a
leading Pakistani newspaper siting its sources.
Al
Salafi and two companions were arrested in Lahore, Pakistan on
January 22, according to AFP.
“During
investigations, Yousaf al Salafi revealed that he was getting funding
– routed through America – to run the organization in Pakistan
and recruit young people to fight in Syria,” a source close to the
investigations revealed toUrdu-language Daily Express on condition of
anonymity, according to its sister English newspaper The Express
Tribune. The newspaper also claimed that Al Salafi was in fact
arrested last year sometime in December.
Al
Salafi also allegedly confessed to recruiting jihadists to send them
to Syria and was receiving about $600 per person. He also admitted
that he had been working with a Pakistani accomplice, who was
reportedly the Imam of a mosque.
“The
US has been condemning the IS activities but unfortunately has not
been able to stop funding of these organizations, which is being
routed through the US. The US had to dispel the impression that it is
financing the group for its own interests and that is why it launched
offensive against the organization in Iraq but not in Syria,” a
source said.
However,
it was not made clear where exactly the funds came from within the
US.
“Yes
that is true as this issue was raised several times in the local
media and even in the diplomatic corridors between US and Pakistan
and there was media reporters here suggesting that hundreds of
recruits have been exported to strain from Pakistan," a security
source in Pakistan told Sputnik news agency.
The
sources who spoke to the Express Tribune also revealed that the
awkward revelations had been revealed to US Secretary of State John
Kerry on his recent trip to Islamabad.
“The
matter was also taken up with CENTCOM [US Central Command] chief,
General Lloyd Austin, during his visit to Islamabad earlier this
month,” a source said.
A
source told Reuters last week that Al-Salafi is a Pakistani-Syrian
who came to Pakistan via Turkey five months ago and that he had
established an ISIS group in Pakistan.
In
recent months, Pakistani media has been discussing the amount of
influence Islamic State has in Pakistan, and have cited several
incidents in the cities of Lahore and Multan where Islamic State
flags and graffiti have been seen. However Pakistani authorities have
indicated that local militants would oppose Islamic State, according
to IHS Jane’s defense review.
In
response to large-scale advances made by ISIS militants in June 2014
in both Iraq and Syria, the US and other coalition countries began a
large-scale air campaign over the region. The US and the UK have sent
non-operation soldiers to Iraq, as well as special forces.
According
to Pentagon documents seen by the Associated Press on Tuesday,
President Obama will ask for a $38 billion increase for the core
budget of the Defense Department. Of this $5.3 billion will go
towards training and equipping the Iraqi armed forces and the
moderate opposition in Syria in the ongoing fight against Islamic
State.
Homeless Palestinians destroy UN office after funding for refugees cut in Gaza
Desperate Gaza residents attack UN Relief and Works Agency building after decision to cut funds for 96 000 refugees left homeless due to recent Gaza-Israel conflict.
PACE
Deprives Russia of Voting Rights Until April, Russia Quits for 1 Year
STRASBOURG,
January 28 (Sputnik) — The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of
Europe (PACE) adopted on Wednesday a resolution depriving the Russian
delegation of its voting rights in the organization until at least
the April session.
The
resolution stresses that the revision of the decision and other
sanctions against Russia could be held during opening meetings of the
April session if Moscow demonstrates substantial progress in meeting
the PACE demands over Russia's alleged role in the Ukrainian crisis,
including the protection of rights of the Crimean Tartars.
In
response to the PACE’s decision, the head of the Russian delegation
Alexei Pushkov said that Russia is suspending its work in PACE until
the end of the year.
Raul
Castro Urges US to Return Guantanamo Bay for Restoration of Relations
MEXICO
CITY, January 28 (Sputnik) – Cuban President Raul Castro has urged
the United States Wednesday to return the territories of the
Guantanamo Bay that belong to Cuba and lift the trade embargo in
order to improve the bilateral relations between the two countries.
"The
restoration of bilateral relations will not be possible, as long as
the embargo exists and the Cuban territories in Guantanamo Bay have
not been returned," Castro was quoted as saying by the
Venezuelan network TeleSur.
The
Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba was established in 2002,
following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United
States.
In
December 2014, US President Barack Obama announced that he was
intending to normalize relations with Cuba by easing travel and trade
restrictions and reopening a US embassy in Havana.
On
Tuesday, former Cuban leader Fidel Castro expressed his distrust
toward the United States in relation to the US initiative to
normalize relations.
Since
1961, the United States has held an embargo against Cuba, which was
originally put in place as a result of the 20th century Cold War
antagonism between Washington and the Communist government in Havana.
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